Rail joint



' June 5, 1928.

, s. EDWARDS RAIL JOINT Filed Maron 28, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 avwzntoz Patented June 5, v1928.

yUNITED STATES SAMUEL EDWARDS, oF- cHAnLEs'ron, WESTy vmemm RAIL JOINT.

Application filed March 2,8, 1927. Serial No. 179,127.

This invention relates to rail joints, and more particularly to a combination rail joint and splice plate for use in fastening together the abutted ends of railway rails.

'It is a general object oi' this invention to provide anovel and improved form of rail joint.

vMore particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a novel and improved rail Vjoint in which the rails are prevented from moving out of alignment with Aeach other in any direction, in which they are prevented from tipping, sliding, or infact moving in any direction in respect to the tie.

Another object of the invention consists in the provision of a spliceplate or bed plate and cooperating fish plates or angle bars having interlocking engagement therewith, inorder to more securely retain the abutting .ends of they rail sections in proper alignment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a rail joint in which the load on .the ytop .of the meeting rail ends willbe posi# ktively transmitted to the bases of these rail ends by the fish plates or angle bars.

Intheyaccompanying drawings and followingtspeciicationthere is disclosed,'by way of @example only, a single embodiment illustraitive of the present invention with the understanding, however, that various modiiica-y tions..may be .made by those skilled in the Aart `in the form, size, proportion and ar`r rangement of the various parts without departing .from vthe spirit of the invention or `the scopeof the appended claims.

1n Asaid drawings: n

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through a rail ,joint constructed according to this inlvention taken on broken line 1--1 of FigurelQ;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the joint;

Fig. 3 is .aplan view thereof; and

Eig. lisa view taken in the same manner ,asfFig 1 showing a modilied form.

"llhefpresent invention discloses an irnprovedjform of splice plate and rail joint- ,particularly .adapted to be used with the type of tie disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,579,860, dated April 6, 1926, but is not limited to use Withthat particular' type of tie. .This orm of tie, as best shown in Fig-v ,ure 3, comprises a central or main portion l0 of the Yusual width or' a railroad tie but having one end, upon kwhich abutted rails .are adapted to be joined, widened by the addition of the blocks 11 of the Same than, i

ness and preferably of thesame width as the tie proper. These'blocks'll maybe secured to the tie 10 by means of the transverse bolts 12. This widened end ofthe tie provides additional support where most desrred beneath the abutting endsof the lpair of rails.

The bed plate or splice plate 13 is arranged transversely of this widened end and is of a` length suflicient to cover the three portions of the tie, as shown. The late is constructed of any suitable material and has a central groove or channel 14 defined by the upwardly and outwardly Haring walls or shoulders 15 which are spaced apart at their bottoms the proper distance to snugly engage the sides of the bases 16 Vof the abuttingfrails to ythus vmaintain them in transverse alignment as the bottom 17 vof the kplate retains them in horizontal alignment. The'tips v18 of the shoulders are the highest points `on the bed plate, from whichrportions the arcs 19 curve downwardlyv to the angles 20'belowy the level of the normal thickness of the bed plate, providing the vchannels 2l defined on their outer edgesby the vertical shoulders or walls 22. Y

Instead ofthe usual lish plates which are ordinarily `usedl to join .thek two sections of rail together, there are provided "the special langle bars 23, one on either side of the rail sections. arranged in reversed position, as shown, and each comprises the substantially vertical center portion '24, the bulbous tip 25, the base engaging plortion'26, the shoulder`27 and the outerwings ending inthe edge 28. AThis edge 28.is adapted to lit against the shoulder 22, and between this edge and the shoulder 27, the bottom ofthe angle bar is curved approximately to the form of the .arc 19. The shoulder 27 is adapted to labut against the upwardly and outwardlyfiaring wall 15 which defines the channel in which the rail bases are received. This shoulder 27is of slightly greater depth than the wall V15, which .insures that the weight will ybe carried iby the rail base. The diiierence in depth of course leaves a taperi air space 34. From this shoulder 27 to t e vertical y portion 24 the under surface ofthe angle bar is curved like the upper' surface of the rail vbase, while the vertical portion24 is of such These angle'bars are identical and' that the angle bars support the head ofthe rail from the base of the angle bars, and may be considered as struts extending be tween 28 and 25, thus preventing any upl setting or rolling over oi' the rail. The center of curvature oli the under surface or the head of the rail is located in such a position that with the rail in place in the bottom of the channel, the angle bars cannot be removed either by rotation around the edge 28 or around the bulbous portion 25, so that they are, in tact, locked in position by the weight of the rail. They are placed in po sition by iirst dropping the rail ends into the channel le and then setting the angle bars in position witlirtheir edges 28 against ,the shoulders 22 and with the bulbous por tions 25 resting against the sides Vof the rail heads, as shown in dotted lines in Figure l. The rail sections are thenliifted slightly out of the channel to allow the portions 25 to drop beneath the rail heads after which the rails are allowed to return to their position against the bottoni vof the channel and with the undersurface of the head resting on the portions 25 thus locking the angle bars in position. v

A plurality, preferably tour, transverse holes are provided through the vertical portions 24 of the angle bars in register with the usual holes 3() in the webs of the rail ends, to receive the usual bolts 29 for securing the angle barsto the rail sections as is common with the ordinary form of fish plates. In order to fasten the assembled joint to the tie, the holes 3l are provided through the angle bars and the holes 32 through the base oi the bed plate, these holes being arranged in vertical alignment so that Vspikes 33 can be driven therethrough to secure the whole assembly to the tie. The holes in the angle bars and the bed plate are spaced just suiiiciently apart for the spilres to clear the base of the rail and are spaced longitudinally so as to provide a spike in each section oi the tie on either side o'l" the joint,.as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The structure just described provides a Very rigid rail joint, since the channel in the bed plate prevents any horizontal or vertical disalignment of the rails and the bulbous ends or the channed bars prevent any lateral displacement ofthe head sections olf the rails, assisted in this function not only by the bolts 29, but by the two shoulders of the bed plate against which the angle bars are locked, which locking is increased by weight upon the head of the rail. By having the edges 28 of the angle bars supported at a considerable distance beyond the base of thel rail., additional means provided to prevent any tendency of rolling or upsetting on the part of the rail. The addin Leraar i tional width oi tie augments the strengthening elect of the rail joint and supports in an adequate manner the weakest portion oi' the track.

The bulbous portions 25 of the angle bars, being fully supported from the bed plate, prevent any sagging of the rails at their junction, such as is common with shorter and less eilective rail joints or the fish plate type. This joint hasbeen tried and Jfound exceedingly satisfactory on several of the largest railroads in the United States.

The inodifiedforin illustrated in Figure el shows a joint for a rail having a Hat sur face under the top portion, and another fiat surface on the top of the base portion. The angle oars 23 are therefore provided with i'lat mating portions, such as 25 and 26. The portions 24 are also spaced a little farther i'roin the web of the rail, thus inn creasing the strut etl'ect, to prevent sidewise tipping of the rail. The shoulder 27 does not 'entend to the bottom of the wall l5', but its depth added to-thedepth of the rail base, is greater than the height of the wall l5', hence a tapering air space .34"is formed, and the weight from the top of the'rail is necessarily transmitted to the base portion oi the rail. With these differences in construction the joint operates substantially vas point-ed out in connection with the type shown in Fig. l.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Leters Patent is:

l. A rail joint including in combination, a bed plate provided with a groove to snugly receive the base of a rail, the walls of said groove extending above said base, and there iiaring outwardly, a pair of angle bars adapted to be placed one on either side oit the rail, said bars being so shaped as to abut beneath the head of said rail and against said flaring walls of-,said groove and to contact with the top otsaidrail base whereby the weight ot' the rail places them under compression.

2. A. rail joint including in combination, a bed plate provided with a groove to snugly receive the base of a rail, the walls of said groove extending above said base and `ilaring outwardly, a shoulder on either side or' said groove parallel to the walls thereof, an angle bar lor each side of the rail,

said bar being so shaped as to engage the wall o'l the groove and the shoulder 'and abut beneath the head of the rail to support said head from said bed plate.

3. A rail joint including in combination, a bed plate provided with a groove to snugly receive the base of a rail, the walls of said groove ext-ending above said base and laring outwardly, -a shoulder on either side of said groove parallel to thev walls thereof, an angle bar for each side of the rail, said bar being so shaped as to engage the Wall of the groove and the shoulder and about beneath the head of the rail to support said head from said bed plate and means to secure said anglebars to said bed plate and to a tie.

il. A rail'joint including in combination, a bed plate providedwith a groove to snugly receive the base of a rail, the walls of said groove extending above the base, a pair of angle bars adapted to be placed on either side of the rail, said bars being so shaped as to abut beneaththe head of said rail and also against the rail base, and each having a shoulder adapted to abut against the Walls of said groove, said shoulders being of a depthv to leave an air space above said walls Whereby the weight of said rail is constrained to be transmitted tok said raillbase by said angle bars.

5. A rail joint including in combination, u bed plate provided With a groove to snugly receive the base of a rail, the Walls of` said groove extending above'the base, a pair of angle bars adapted to beplaoed one on either side of the rail, said bars being so shaped as to abut beneath the head of said rail and having shoulders adapted to abut against the Walls of said groove, said shoulders being of greater depththan said groove, wherebyV the Weight of the rail is transmitted to said rail base; l

6. A rail joint including in combination, a bed plate provided With a groove' to snugly receive the base of a rail,`aJ pair of angle bars adapted to be placed one on'either side ofsaid rail, and means on said bars for supporting said rail from said lbed plate to take side thrust, and other means to prevent said means` from taking vertical thrust, said `other means providing an air space above the portion of the bed plate outside of the v i rail groove.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiix my signature.

' SAMUEL EDWARDS. 

